Getting in Deep
by brighteyes193
Summary: 6th year fic. A well renowned DADA teacher, unexpected romances, a pesky adolescent journalist, and a spy in the Ministry await Harry and co. Will Harry finally get the girl? Will Dumbledore actually make a mistake? H-Hr R-L. Please R&R!


Hey everybody. This is chapter 1 of what has been a long and complicated process. Anyone who has heard of this story as "Full Circle", this is basicly the same story with revisions. It has a different look to it because I decided to scrap a plotline. Anyway, this is, essentially, my first work. So please read and review. Thanks to elizabella for betaing and to my muse for musing.

Disclaimer: All J.K.'s. If it were mine, would I be writing this?_

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_Harry dove behind the overturned bench, as the lamppost previously providing him cover exploded in a flash of green light. He peered through the posts and saw Voldemort staring at him menacingly, raising his wand to strike. Harry began to stand up again, ready to make a break for it. Suddenly, a large flash occurred, and Dumbledore appeared, wand raised. Harry saw a look of pure fury on his face, before he rushed at Voldemort, sending various spells toward him. Voldemort turned toward him, muttered something strange, and disappeared. _

_Harry stood up. Dumbledore saw him and threw a spell at him, knocking him to the ground. "No, Harry!" He bellowed. "Stay there!"_

_Harry crawled back behind the bench, just in time to see a green flash explode where his head was only moments ago. He peered through the bars of wood again. _

_"__Come out Tom, the Aurors will be arriving shortly." Dumbledore called out. _

_An icy voice rang throughout the air. "As will my servants Dumbledore. Ah, here they are now."_

_Suddenly the air was filled with the cracks of apparating wizards as dozens of hooded figures appeared, surrounding Dumbledore. Within seconds, Harry saw about 50 more wizards appear, dressed in attire similar to those already present. Those around Dumbledore wasted no time. In seemingly one motion, they pulled down their hoods, revealing not Death Eaters, but Aurors. They swiftly turned around and began to fire various spells and curses at the true Death Eaters. Caught by surprise, the Death Eaters, panicked, scattering and breaking their ranks. _

_Voldemort cried out in rage, sending 6 curses at once at the bench where Harry was hiding. Harry braced himself, waiting for impact. But the spells did not seem to do any damage to the bench. It absorbed the blows as if they were nothing more then flashes of light. _

_Voldemort swore and called out for a retreat. Instantly, those Death Eaters not already stunned or killed, vanished. _

_The bench, which had seemingly absorbed the curses, began to throb. Before Dumbledore could warn Harry, it exploded, sending planks of wood everywhere. Harry received a blow to the head and blacked out.

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Harry woke up with his head throbbing. He blinked his eyes a few times, and recognized the familiar surroundings of the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Next to him, was a towering pile of chocolate frogs from the various students at Hogwarts. Harry had barely put on his glasses when the curtains surrounding his bed were thrown open. Hermione threw her arms around Harry, squealing with delight. "Harry! You're awake!"

Harry patted her back awkwardly. "Hello 'Mione."

She pulled back from the embrace and took a seat at the foot of the bed. Harry was startled to see that tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Hermione? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned.

"Oh, Harry! They told me you had faced Voldemort, and, and…"

"What is it?"

Hermione was sobbing loudly now. "I thought you had _died_." She said, barely above a whisper.

"'Mione…"

She cut him off, moving back towards him and engulfing him in another hug. Harry couldn't say why, but this hug felt different, it felt more _personal_. He wiped a few tears off her face and started to rub her back consolingly. He noticed that her hair seemed less bushy then last year, and that her eyes were somehow brighter. She seemed different, yet she was still Hermione.

He sat there, confused, until Madame Pomfrey opened the curtains surrounding his bed. "I hate to interrupt, but Ms. Granger, I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Hermione started to protest but Madame Pomfrey cut her off. "Now Miss Granger. Mr. Potter needs his rest."

Hermione stood up, pulling herself together, and taking a seat just by the Hospital Wing entrance. Madame Pomfrey began to mix a potion, giving it to Harry to drink. "Now if you'll just take this for the concussion." Harry swallowed it and heard the infirmary doors open and close. Madame Pomfrey whirled about to face the cause of the disruption. It was Dumbledore. "Albus, no! This boy has been through a lot. He needs rest!"

Dumbledore put up a hand. "Yes, Poppy, he does. And he will have his rest after a short discussion with me."

Madame Pomfrey walked away muttering to no one in particular, "How's the boy to get better if we have a bloody parade going through?"

Dumbledore waited for her office door to close. "Miss Granger, if you would let me speak with Mr. Potter for a moment." He said, nodding towards the door, his eye twinkling.

Hermione nodded reluctantly and exited the infirmary. Dumbledore conjured a chair and sat down next to Harry's bed in the fluffy armchair. "So Harry," He started, "I suspect that you have some questions about what happened."

Harry nodded slowly. "Well sir, what exactly did happen? I was just taking a walk and suddenly, he was there. I didn't have much time to react."

Dumbledore suddenly looked sad. "No, you didn't Harry. Yet you did a commendable job. Unfortunately, the Order was very careless, taking too much time between shifts. You were left unprotected when you needed protection the most. For this I can't apologize enough."

"Well, you showed up. Without you there, things would have been much worse. And the Aurors got there within minutes."

"While all this is true, the entire incident could have been prevented. I had not figured Voldemort for a coward. Yes, he is a ruthless murderer, but only a coward would attack you in your weakest state."

Harry nodded again, and raised his head as the doors to the Hospital Wing opened yet again. This time it was Mrs. Weasley. Her face was flushed in anger, and almost as red as her hair. She stormed over to Harry's bed and came down upon Dumbledore, hands flailing wildly by her sides. "HOW COULD YOU? LEAVING HARRY UNPROTECTED LIKE THAT! YOU KNEW HE WOULD BE IN DANGER! I TOLD YOU TO PROTECT HIM!"

Dumbledore stood up. "Molly, if you would calm down…"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN! HE WAS LEFT DEFENSELESS, ALBUS!"

Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I know this. It was the mistake of an old man. I depended on the Order to heavily. I understand. However, a certain authoritative figure was holding my attention at the moment."

Mrs. Weasley seemed to understand. "Oh, I see… Even so, it was very careless of you Albus."

"Yes, it was. And if we can continue to discuss this at our next meeting in greater detail I would be very appreciative."

Mrs. Weasley nodded distractedly. "Oh, of course… The children."

Suddenly Harry piped in. "Um, excuse me? What's going on? What authoritative figure?"

Dumbledore gave him a small wink as if to say, later.

Mrs. Weasley spotted this and turned on Dumbledore again. "Oh no. You're not going to tell him. He's too young for these types of things!"

"While Harry is young, I'll daresay he has been through quite enough to hear this." Dumbledore replied.

"Alright. But later. Let him rest."

Dumbledore simply nodded. At this, Madame Pomfrey came out of her office and over to Harry's bed. "Alright you all. You've had your talk, and gotten him nice and excited. Now you have to leave."

Dumbledore looked at Mrs. Weasley. "Molly, she's right. We should be going."

Mrs. Weasley nodded, and they headed out together. Before the door could close behind them, Ron burst into the room.

Madame Pomfrey saw him. "Absolutely not! I'll have no more visitors for Mr. Potter until he is fully recovered!"

"Hey! Hermione got to see him!" Ron argued.

"I don't care. Anyway, Ms. Granger was also forced to leave."

"But I'm his best mate! Just give me five minutes."

Madame Pomfrey threw her hands in the air. "Fine. Five minutes. And you can tell anyone else who wants to visit to come back later. I don't care if the Minister of Magic is here to see him. You are the last visitor."

Ron nodded. "Alright."

She stormed away into her office. Ron headed over to Harry's bed and flashed him a smile. "How's it going mate?"

Harry smiled back at his friend. "Pretty good. Hey, did Fred and George ever get the right formula for the new candy?"

"Not as of yesterday. Guess who their test subject was after the toad they were using died." Ron looked a bit green at this.

Harry chuckled. "So what's new?"

"Well, I was actually hoping to talk to you about something." Ron looked serious.

"What is it?"

"Umm, well you know how Hermione and me have been dating…"

Harry nodded slowly.

"Well… We were talking… And we decided to split up, you know, like see other people."

Harry was shocked. "But, why? You two seemed like the perfect fit."

Ron shrugged. "Maybe that was it. We told each other that there were other people we would rather see."

Now Harry was curious. "Who?"

"Well… for me it's… Luna."

Harry sat straight up. "Umm, wow. Ok… What about Hermione?" He asked, trying to mask the anxiousness in his voice.

"She wouldn't say. Even after I told her about Luna."

"Oh." Harry said simply, disappointed. "So what are you going to do about Luna? Are you going to ask her out?"

Ron shuffled his feet. "Well, that's what I was going to talk to you about. Do you think she fancies me?"

Harry looked at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me? Whenever she was around you last year she couldn't keep her eyes off of you!"

Ron looked ecstatic. "Really? So you think I should ask her to Hogsmeade?"

"Definitely."

Ron seemed to glow with excitement. "Great. Thanks Harry."

"No problem mate."

Hopping up, Ron gleamed another smile at his best friend and left the room. Madame Pomfrey heard him leave and came out of her office. She headed over to Harry and gave him yet another potion to drink. "Here. Now that you're wide-awake, drink this. It'll help you sleep."

Harry drained the potion, and immediately began to feel groggy. He fell asleep, thinking of all the unexpected things that were happening.


End file.
